Douglas Stephens
Douglas "Doc" Wayne Stephens, Ph.D., J.D., (born August 8th, 1943) is an American politician, lawyer, author, professor and activist, and is the 24th and current governor of the state of Montana. He previously served as the 19th governor of Montana, as the President of Montana State University, and as a US Senator. Born in Lewistown, Montana, Stephens is a graduate of the University of Montana, Harvard University, and Oxford University. Before becoming politically active, Stephens was a professor at University of Montana, teaching in both the political science and law departments. Stephens began his political career as a Democrat, and has made a number of switches between the Democratic, Republican, and Libertarian parties, as well as running for office as an independent in the past. Affectionately called "Doc" by Montanans, Stephens has received constant high approval ratings among Montana voters, regardless of party affiliation. Early Life Douglas Wayne Stephens was born on August 8th, 1943, at St. Joseph's Hospital in Lewistown, MT. His father, Seamus Stephens, was the son of Irish immigrants, and was at the time of Douglas's birth under captivity by Nazi forces in the European theater of World War II. His mother, Alexandra King Stephens, was of British descent and her family had lived in America since the late 1500's. Seamus returned to America at the end of the war and took up farming full-time as an occupation. Therefore, Stephens lived an agrarian lifestyle most of his childhood and was heavily active in 4-H and Future Farmers of America. Stephens was a successful high school student and won several national competitions while in Future Farmers of America. At the end of his senior year of high school in , he was elected as State President of Montana Future Farmers of America, to serve a one-year term. Education & Early Career Stephens chose to attend Montana State College (now Montana State University), in pursuit of a degree in Animal Science. However, this was 1962, and Stephens inspired to enter politics by the leadership of Democratic President John F. Kennedy and Senate Majority Leader and fellow Montanan Mike Mansfield. In the fall of 1963, Stephens transferred to University of Montana to pursue a degree in Political Science. Stephens was a notedly talented student, graduating summa cum laude and earning the distinction of Rhodes Scholar. In the fall of 1965, he began his master's degree at Oxford University in the United Kingdom, giving him an exemption from service in Vietnam. In 1968, he continued his education at Harvard University, pursuing his doctorate in Political Science. During this time, he was heavily involved in Harvard College Democrats and was also fairly active in protesting the Vietnam War. In 1971, only months after his graduation from Harvard, Stephens was hired by his alma mater University of Montana to teach political science part-time as an adjunct, and Stephens pursued a law degree while working for the University. By 1977, he had also earned his JD and was promoted to full-time staff for both the Law and Political Science departments, primarily teaching Constitutional Law, International Relations, and Legal History, as well as at one point teaching a special seminar class titled On Classical Liberalism. In January 1978, Stephens was investigated for an alleged sexual encounter with a 22-year-old teaching assistant. No charges were filed and Stephens was not punished by the university, which Stephens later clarified was because the school "couldn't really do anything about consensual relations." US Senate (1978-1984) Dr. Doug Stephens entered the 1978 Montana Democratic Primary for Senator, challenging Congressman Max Baucus and narrowly winning. In the general election, Stephens beat the Republican candidate Larry R. Williams in a landslide as Stephens relentlessly courted voters employed in agriculture and in union jobs. The early years of Stephens's Senate term were mostly spent proposing legislation that helped farmers, including a major relief bill for drought conditions in the Midwest. Stephens also made a name for himself by filibustering a gun control bill for 6 hours. In 1980, Stephens began to be viewed as a "Reagan Democrat", an informal member of a coalition of centrist Democrats who often voted more similar to the Reagan-led Republicans that their fellow Democrats. Governor of Montana (1984-1992) As Stephens's first term came to a close, his father contracted mesothelioma, causing Stephens to resign his position as Senator to be in Montana with his family. In 1984, Stephens began to gather his resources for a gubernatorial run, and narrowly won the election as Montana Democrats criticized him for a perceived lack of party loyalty. In what was a rematch of the 1978 Senatorial election, Stephens defeated incumbent Republican Larry Williams for the governor's seat. Stephens came into the office of Governor and immediately began to make major changes, vetoing every bill that increased taxes and pushing for legislation to privatize several state agencies. Stephens came under fire for accepting free hospice care for his father in exchange for political favors that benefitted healthcare providers in Montana. Public support of Stephens waned, and as his term came to an end in 1988, it appeared likely that he would be defeated by Ted Schwinden in the Democratic primary. He was eventually defeated, earning 46% of the vote to Schwinden's 54%. Stephens did not withdraw his candidacy for Governor, and instead sought nomination by the Montana Libertarian Party. Enticed by the prospect of running a viable, experienced candidate in the Montana gubernatorial election, Stephens was chosen as nominee. The next several months leading up to the election, Stephens, Schwinden, and GOP candidate Martin Michels were locked in a three-way tie for the seat. Stephens secured an endorsement by sitting US President Ronald Reagan, which gave him the needed edge to win with a plurality of 35%. This dirty, rough election left Stephens as an somewhat-unpopular governor for his 1988-1992 term. His record was erratic, siding with Democrats and Republicans equally, and he gained a reputation for being able to be bought by members of either party. He did, however, achieve several goals that Montanans were hoping he could achieve. These included: getting the EPA to begin cleanup of Berkley Pit in Butte and the asbestos mines in Libby, the successful move to make the Great Falls Copper Smelter Stack into a National Landmark, the massive cutting of taxes statewide, and the passage of the extremely popular Montana Agricultural Heritage Act; which provided subsidies to small farms who continued to employ more than 10 people, helping little farming towns keep from dying. Stephens's second term as governor ended in 1992, as the state legislature had passed a law that year applying term limits to state officials. Post-Governorship In 1993, Stephens checked into a rehab facility for alcohol abuse. Stephens was reported by aides to be drinking over 10 alcoholic beverages a day in his office, and often being intoxicated during meetings. This stay was only 30 days. Stephens announced an independent bid for President in 1996. While leading in the polling in Montana and coming in 2nd in Colorado and North Dakota, Stephens withdrew from the race due to his lack of popularity outside of the Rocky Mountain region. Stephens returned to his position at the University of Montana in 1996, teaching full-time and served on the boards of the Cato Institute, the National Cattlemen's Association, and the Montana Bar Association. In 2000, Stephens announced his candidacy for President, but this time as a member of the Republican Party. He suspended his campaign only 6 weeks after announcing it. In 2001, he took a year of sabbatical and taught as a guest professor at Harvard and Cambridge. He also entered his name for consideration as President of Montana State University, and was offered the job. He took it, and served as president of MSU until 2008. He was not offered a contract extension after 2008, and he entered private practice as an attorney as a new challenge. Governor of Montana (2012-present) According to Montana law, if someone holds a statewide office for two four-year terms, they cannot hold that position again for 16 years. This gave Stephens the opportunity to run for Governor in 2012. He was, despite protests from social conservatives and family organizations, nominated as the Republican Gubernatorial candidate. This made Stephens the first gubernatorial candidate from any state to have run for the office from three different political parties. Stephens ran on a platform of bringing tech industry to Montana, protecting workers' rights, ending environmental regulation on farmers (which went against his past environmentalist rhetoric), and yet again, saving rural communities. His rhetoric spoke of returning the state to its "glory days", and often spoke of the greatness of the Reagan years in his speeches. By the 2010's, public sentiment about Stephens's past terms as governor turned more positive, as the state had experienced economic downturn since then, He narrowly won the 2012 election against the Democratic incumbent, and began his third term as governor of Montana. This third term was very uneventful, nothing exceptionally good or bad. Stephens's 17 year old granddaughter died in a drunk driving accident in 2013, leading a coalition of social conservatives to release attack ads against Stephens's support of lowering the drinking age. Stephens did make his strongest efforts to reduce tax rates in the state. Stephens ran for reelection in 2016. Stephens made derogatory comments about radio personality, former MMA fighter, and grassroots GOP candidate Mitch Cory, and saw his polling numbers slip and not recover. Stephens lost the primary, and in a move similar to what he did in 1988, he sought and won the nomination as the Libertarian candidate for governor. Stephens won a tight race with Cory, a man who agreed with Stephens more than he disagreed. The race was split four ways, with Stephens and Cory holding a signficant edge over their challengers. The Stephens campaign experienced a surge the last 2 weeks of campaigning, and won by a 0.03% margin. While some Cory supporters called for a recount, Cory never mentioned this, and Stephens later nominated him to the position of Director of Fish, Wildlife, and Parks. The Stephens administration came out with a more aggressive legislative agenda in the fall of 2016, decriminalizing marijuana statewide by executive order, and pushing for more tax cuts and for MACRA, a proposed bill that would give tax incentives to small-town businesses. In early 2017, Stephens vocally criticized the Balanced Budget Amendment for not having an emergency clause, and spoke out against the Carbon Tax. During the Dillon, Montana Shooting in February 2017, Stephens deployed the Montana Army National Guard to assist with the situation, and himself came to the city immediately to assist the victims and restore peace. Political Positions Stephens is typically described as a libertarian, though he has also been on numerous occasions been called a constitutionalist, a conservatarian, a classical liberal, a Reagan Democrat, and a populist. Stephens is a strict fiscal conservative, and has called for a national flat income tax of 8%. He supports abolishing the death tax, and setting corporate tax rates for family farms to 0%. He believes in minimal welfare resources, and their replacement with private charity. Socially, Stephens follows a typical libertarian mold. He has a positive rating with LGBTQ organizations, though he has come under fire for supporting businesses' right to refuse service to customers based on gender and sexuality. He said in 2014, "Marriage is none of the government's business. It's a contract between yourself, your partner, and the god of your choice. When big brother is involved, things get messy." Stephens supports a strict interpretation of the Constitution. He believes in repealing legislation that prevents Americans from owning military-style weapons, saying that the right to armed revolution is one of the innate rights humans are given at birth. Stephens in non-interventionist, claiming that unless the American territory is attacked military action should not take place. He believes that all wars must be declared by Congressional Declaration. He claims that the current war against ISIS is justified because ISIS-led and ISIS-inspired attacks have happened on US soil. Israel is one topic where Stephens deviates on foreign policy, claiming that it is our duty to protect them because "we started that mess, now we gotta clean it up." He is pro-life based on the concept that abortion is a violation of the Non-Agression Principle, and theoretically would be considered murder. Stephens supports a "universal age of adulthood", in which consuming alcohol, cigarettes, and marijuana, voting, gambling, paying taxes, and serving in the military are all rights granted upon reaching an age of majority of 19 years old. Stephens has a conservationist streak. He is a rare libertarian to support the National Park system, and has assisted in creating several state and national monuments. He supports EPA efforts to clean up the Superfund sites in Western Montana, and has expressed his desire for the federal government to speed up their process in fixing these sites. While Stephens is typically called a libertarian, other prominent libertarians have scrutinized Stephens for being soft on farm subsidies, more supportive of environmentalist causes, and generally a more moderate and pragmatic libertarian. Personal Life Stephens resides in Lewistown, MT on his family ranch, and splits time in the Governor's mansion in Helena. Stephens also owns property in Missoula. Stephens has been married to Amy Claire Stephens (née Myers) since 1980. Stephens has remarked about Amy, "She's a very private person. She's so supportive of me and that's all I could ever ask for, but she's not the type to want to be in the limelight." He has three children. Henry Stephens (b. 1981), his oldest son, manages the Diamond Lazy S Ranch in Lewistown, Montana. Patricia Stephens-Hofer (b. 1983), his daughter, is a professor of journalism at University of Montana and resides in Missoula. Garrett Stephens (b. 1995), his youngest son, attends Harvard University and is earning a degree in political science. As a hobby, Stephens restores classic cars, specializing in older GMC and Chevy pickups and Pontiac Firebirds. In a 2012 interview, Stephens said that he owns over a dozen fully restored classic pickups, ranging from a 1918 Chevy Half-Ton to a 1985 Chevy K10 4x4. Stephens is an avid big-game hunter, and was interviewed by Field and Stream about his passion for hunting predators. Stephens has written several books on political philosophy and history. Big Sky Brewing in Missoula made a commemorative beer upon Stephens's signing of a law that increased the legal production capacity of Montana's microbreweries. "Doc's Liberty Bell New England IPA" was sold in cans and bottles throughout Montana for a limited time in 2015. Written Works *''The Wild West: the Golden Age of American Liberty, 1992 *''A Libertarian Understanding of Laws, Rules, and Ethics, ''1998 *''Choose Freedom, ''2004 *''Prohibition in Perspective, 2013 *''Ungoverned, ''to be released in late 2017 Category:Republican Category:Governor Category:Libertarians Category:Republicans Category:Authors Category:Lawyers Category:Professors Category:Montana